Laking’s first children’s book is an adventure in colour

PORTAPIQUE, N.S. – Accompanied by a couple of birds, a child goes on a winter adventure filled with colour.

“Colours in Winter,” Joy Snihur Wyatt Laking’s first children’s book, includes whimsical artwork in vibrant colour, a story that will capture the imagination and information about the natural world.

“I’ve always loved writing,” said Laking. “I wrote and illustrated this over 35 years ago and just put it away. A year and a half ago, I showed it to my husband, Jim. He said it was wonderful and I should send it out.”

She sent it to Pottersfield Press and they expressed interest in publishing it.

“I had to make some changes because I wanted it to be the best it could be,” she said. “I also spent a week and a half doing the cover in my old style. I used inks instead of paint.

“The book is for kids age three to eight and it’s full of imagination. A little girl is wishing for other seasons and then realizes there’s colour all around her.”

The girl in the book feels there’s not enough colour to winter, but then colourful snowflakes begin to fall. These remind her of things she loves from other seasons but after a while she feels there’s too much colour. When the snowflakes become white again she notices the natural winter colours around her, in things like rose hips, evergreen trees, bark and birds.

The 36-page book will not only entertain children, but it encourages them to explore and appreciate the winter world.

It can be purchased online through Nimbus at https://nimbus.ca/store/colours-in-winter. html or by emailing Laking at joy@joylakinggallery.com. Copies will also be available during a book launch at the Truro library on Saturday, Dec. 7 at 10:30 a.m.